Could these blood results really make you feel this bad??

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vitamin d - 41.1 nmol/L
serum ferritin - 18.0 ug/L

Went to the gp last week as have been feeling really truly awful for about 3 weeks. Honestly thinking i must have an autoimmune condition or something horrific.

Horrible fatigue, literally feel it in my bones. Everything is taking much more effort. Sooo tired but finding it hard to sleep. Sore hip. Horrific anxiety (which I’ve had for years but just much worse) and just feeling really really shit. Had bloods done and all looked normal aside from the above two. Could these alone really make you feel so unwell??

Does anyone have any experience or tips to get these up quickly?

I wish they would here in France. 10 is normal here, mine is usually around 22 so absolutely fine 😂

I think that is in the low range of “normal” you might be able to request your methylmalonic acid levels are tested as well as it is a more sensitive test for measuring B12 deficiency. Sometimes the B12 test will show as within normal range but the methylmalonic acid test detects a deficiency. I can’t advise whether a GP would be able to do this though.

@Devilsmommyhmm ok. Now I’m spiralling because I’ve been on wegovy (lowest dose) for 5 months and worrying I’ve given myself thyroid cancer 😫

Oh god I didn't mean to make you think anything like that. I had an overactive thyroid and it made me feel exactly how you described. I was going to ask if you'd been losing weight without trying but obviously you're taking wli so not sure. One of the signs of an overactive thyroid is unintended weight loss you see. Don't jump to cancer, it could be many things that aren't as serious as cancer

Over 75 for hair growth! Mine is 66 and I’m still on iron tablets as my saturation won’t come up

@Devilsmommydont apologise, it’s my anxiety, welcome to my brain 🙃
my weight loss has been quite slow and steady and tbh still a struggle 😅 but much easier than it used to be without wli.
I will see if I can persuade them to check my thyroid bloods again.

B12 needs to be over 500, regardless of the reference range. Talk to the Pernicious Anaemia Society online for more info. No wonder you feel bad!

What was your folate result?

You really need to discuss this with your doctor or ANP/nurse. Taking supplements is great- and modifying your diet too, but some supplements may interact with any medication you're taking. There's also the issue of bioavailability - what you eat can influence how much of a supplement you absorb. Your health professional will have access to all your details and be able to more accurately advise you.

I'd definitely get them retested because honestly the symptoms you described were exactly what I felt. My ferritin and vitamin D levels were rock bottom too. Once I started taking the supplements to get my levels back up it was amazing how much better I felt. When I went back to have my bloods done after 3 Months it showed my levels at normal ranges and my thyroid had gone back to normal. What messed up my thyroid was my pregnancy which I didn't realise was so common. Maybe the wli's have thrown your hormones out of whack hence the possible thyroid issue. I hope you manage to get seen soon and start feeling better too😊

Definitely accept the appointment. The reason they suggest iron tablets over the counter is because they’re cheap as chips, cheaper than the cost of a prescription. But you’ll need the ones behind the counter not off the shelf I should think.
Things no-one tells you with iron tablets - don’t take them within 2 hours of drinking tea, the tannin affects absorption. Take them every other day. Otherwise the body gets confused and thinks you have enough and won’t absorb it (it’s more technical than that but I’m tired 😆).
Definitely worth getting your thyroid checked but honestly I’ve felt really awful with low ferritin. Pale, hair loss, dark circles, being asking if I’m ill. All improved on iron tablets.
How’s your nutrition?

And they can help you and work with this alongside your health anxiety. 💐

Thanks everyone x

Just within range… not optimal. Within range doesn’t mean healthy or that you’ll feel OK it just means the NHS sees it a lot and doesn’t think you’ll die so won’t treat it,

Optimum ferritin for a woman is 70-100.

And mix iron with vitamin C! It increases absorption.

Agree. I saw somewhere that the guidelines for ferritin have changed and now under 30 is classed as low. I saw a trichologist who told me it should be 70 minimum and that below that your hair can suffer.

How old are you? Perimenopause/menopause can make you feel awful.

Gosh these are very similar to my recent results. I’ve had ferratin sitting under 20 for nearly a decade! It’s never gone up and nothing is ever done.
I’ve got an appointment to discuss and am going to ask about a transfusion - I’ve always sat within ‘normal’ so it’s enlightening to read this!
the shower is full of my hair - drives DH mad! But this would explain it!

I’m 38, almost 39. Still have regular periods, they’re super heavy and always have been.

I recently learned you need ferritin of 100, optimally - over 80 for hair growth. My mum has iron of 120 - I'm so envious!

Mine was at 21 when I had a blood test recently, which explains my anxiety, exhaustion, and terrible hair shedding. I'm now on three 18 mg tablets of carbonyl iron daily (like ferrous bisglycinate, it's not as bioavailable as ferrous fumurate, but it is gentle on the stomach so much more tolerable - you just have to take more), taken with a 1000 mg Vitamin C tablet, at least two hours away from having caffeine (including tea) - so I take it at bedtime. Ideally I'd like to take four a day, but the cost adds up!

They do say that you can take the supplements every second day as absorption is most efficient that way, but having it daily still gives you more iron overall, even though you absorb less of the total iron in each pill.

I've seen around 80 - 100 mg a day as the recommended dosage for raising low ferritin, and anything over 200 mg not recommended without a GP's approval.

It's been about 10 weeks, and I think I'm already starting to feel a bit better, but I won't have another blood test until August. I'll have to try to remember to come back here and share if it's actually worked or not 😆

I don't think I will ever get to 70. I'm trying for 50 as my body just doesn't seem to absorb iron well. The gastro consultant says that some coeliacs (I'm one) are like that even on a GF diet. It took 6 months on 3 ferrous fumerate a day to get to 60 a couple of years ago and the side effects were not great. OP, hope you can supplement with the right things and start to feel better.

My ferritin and vitamin D are similar to you. I also have an underactive thyroid but that's controlled with meds now and my numbers are optimal. I still don't feel that full of energy so the doctor put it down to the iron. He was even talking about a possible pelvic ultrasound if I don't get my iron up! Maybe because I told him I took iron tablets a lot last year and my ferritin only went up by a few points. I'm vegetarian though. You need to go on them for a year apparently.

Vitamin D-I know I was really low a couple years ago and I had awful leg pain- tablets sorted it out in a couple weeks. Had back pain on and off since then and it's been a lot better since I started taking vitamin D regularly after I got low again. It might be a coincidence but I know it can cause lower back pain. I've been advised to go on 1,000iu daily for the foreseeable future. So yes both of them being a bit low can make you feel pretty awful!

As gp didn’t class my b12 as low (they’d been testing for a few years due to tingling) I took a vegan sublingual tablet (cytoplan) for 6 months and asked them if they’d test again. It was much better. It would have been seen as low on the past and in other countries. A friend uses a mouth spray.

For me it has actually been folate that seems to be an issue. I seem to need to take it daily or it hovers just above deficient despite a folate rich diet. It also took a while to get it up.

I think the ferritin and vit together could cause issues. The best thing would be to get all up in the upper ranges and see how you feel.

Better vit d mouth spray is good.

I found I’d feel light headed when ferritin dropped below 50. I struggled gut wise with the pills but found spatone x2 for a few months as effective and more sustainable.

I had a very patient gp as hypothyroid and also had chronic fatigue at the time.

It was Spatone that worked for me but I did follow the instructions very carefully and took two.

I went to the GP with similar symptoms and all my standard thyroid checks were fine, but when they dug deeper and specifically checked my calcium and parathyroid hormones they stumbled on the diagnosis of hyperparathyroid disease (which is usually an accidental finding as it isn’t something that can be picked up on via the standard blood tests) and it accounts for all my symptoms.

I’ve since been referred to Endocrinology and am now having all the tests done in the lead up to surgery (it can only be cured by a small day-case operation).

If vitamin supplements don’t make you feel better OP it may be worth exploring this route (have a read up on the condition) and going back to your GP.

When my vit D was low (GP told me it was the lowest they'd ever seen!), I was advised to eat organ meat/dairy and oily fish (including bones), sit in the morning sun every morning for 10 minutes with no sunscreen and take vit D supplements with K2.

Took this advice and was feeling a lot better in about 6 weeks.